You are here

Showing Israel the Love

Multimedia

Enlarge Image »President Barack Obama signs the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act in the Oval Office on July 27.</em><br><small>Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy. Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

Washington · Analysis

It was a weekend of Israel love politically that highlighted two approaches to showing affection for the Jewish state: Go to Israel, as Mitt Romney did, or go pro-Israel, as the Obama administration did.

The pictures told the story, or as it were, stories: Romney in a kipah at the Western Wall on Sunday, Obama in the Oval Office two days earlier surrounded by go-to Jews from Congress and the Jewish organizational world to witness the signing of a bill enhancing U.S. defense assistance to Israel.

The reasons for the pitches were both practical and ephemeral: Each campaign scored major Jewish donations leading up to Romney's trip, and Republicans claimed they would make inroads into the Jewish vote, although polling showed Obama ahead of where he was at this point four years ago.

Each approach had as its centerpiece the threat that Israel perceives from Iran's nuclear program.

"We must not delude ourselves into thinking that containment is an option," Romney said, speaking in Jerusalem to the Jerusalem Foundation, the body that solicits philanthropy for the city. "We must lead the effort to prevent Iran from building and possessing nuclear weapons capability. We should employ any and all measures to dissuade the Iranian regime from its nuclear course."

All of these points have been made by Obama, who also rejects "containing" a nuclear Iran and emphasizes diplomacy while reserving military action as an option. Romney's only seeming difference was that he would not allow any enrichment of uranium, while Obama has not discounted enrichment at 3.5 percent to 5 percent for research.

Romney's points were made, however, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has expressed skepticism about Obama's strategy, which has involved pressing Israel to refrain from striking Iran until all other options are exhausted. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was due to meet Netanyahu this week in what has become a parade of top U.S. officials headed to the Jewish state to make the case that Obama's strategy is the likeliest path to success.

Netanyahu did not appear to be buying it. "We have to be honest and say that all the diplomacy and sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian program by one iota," he told Romney in a meeting.

If Netanyahu wasn't on board, that didn't stop Obama from selling his approach to the pro-Israel community. In the Oval Office on July 27, he signed a bill aimed at enhancing security cooperation and increasing anti-missile assistance to Israel, all in the presence of two past presidents of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and two of the bill's sponsors, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ho­ward Berman (D-Calif.).

Obama emphasized the bigger picture, saying that the deadly July attack on a Bulgarian tour bus packed with Israeli tourists reinforced his resolve to keep Israel safe.

"The tragic events that we saw in Bulgaria emphasize the degree to which this continues to be a challenge not just for Israel, but for the entire world -- preventing terrorist attacks and making sure the people of Israel are not targeted," he said.

Obama also cast the legislation -- which also calls for the expansion of intelligence cooperation between the two states -- against the Iranian threat, noting that Panetta and Israeli leaders would "further consult and find additional ways that we can ensure such cooperation at a time when, frankly, the region is experiencing heightened tensions."

Locally, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) praised the president for signing the legislation, which garnered broad bipartisan support. He said he was delighted to see that the "largely dysfunctional federal government" that currently operates in Washington is "occasionally able to get things right."

The legislation is good policy, reaffirms the Israel-U.S. relationship and the U.S. commitment to Israel's security, he said, noting that it's an important message for Israel and the world that there is broad bipartisan support for "standing with our allies."

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) also weighed in. "I was proud to be a co-sponsor of the U.S.-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act. During this tenuous period in the Middle East, it is essential that we send a clear message of solidarity with Israel, backed up by enhanced security cooperation. This law is in the national security interests of the United States and reflects broad bipartisan support for Israel in the Senate." The signing was followed by a flurry of initiatives that appeared to be calibrated to remind American Jews that the administration cares. On Monday, Obama's chief of staff, Jack Lew, met with leaders of the Jewish community in New York in what is becoming for him an almost weekly klatsch with Jewish leaders. Also, the State Department released its religious freedom report that described a "rising tide" of anti-Semitism worldwide.

The following day, the White House introduced new sanctions targeting the slew of groups and individuals that have fronted for Iran in the wake of existing sanctions on its financial and energy sectors.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, meanwhile, continued to roll out a series of ads featuring Jews who had voted for Obama in 2008 but are disappointed with his Israel policies and now pledge to support Romney.

Jewish votes, however, are never entirely the point of pro-Israel outreach. The prize is keeping don­ors on board, and in this area, both campaigns had a million-dollar punchline.

Romney raised more than $1 million at a Jerusalem fundraiser that included major American Republican givers, among them Sheldon Adel­­son, the casino magnate who has sworn to spend tens of millions of dollars to defeat Obama.

Haim Saban, the kiddie entertainment mogul who suggested last year that he was no longer enamored of Obama, donated $1 million earlier this month to groups dedicated to re-electing the president.